The satellite picture of Joshimath has been released by the National Remote Sensing Center of the Indian Space Research Organisation, and according to the report, the entire town of Joshimath may be a victim of land subsidence.
Joshimath land subsidence
The report released by The National Remote Sensing Center shows that the land of Joshimath is slipping very fast, it has subsided up to 5.4 cm in the last 12 days, between 27 December 2022 to 8 January 2023. While about 9 cm in seven months between April and November 2022, Joshimath’s land has subsided.
The subsidence zone is located in the central of Joshimath, in which only the army’s helipad and the Narsingh temple are in its grip, which is visible from the satellite images. The center of subsidence is located near the Joshimath-Auli road at an altitude of about 2,180 meters.
Joshimath is not an ordinary place but it is home of Adi Shankaracharya as well as the gateway to Badrinath Temple, this place is built on deposits of old landslides due to which even a little plowing can destabilize the slope here. This place comes in Zone V according to India’s Seismic Zone Scheme, which makes it very dangerous.
Why Joshimath is slipping like this, the reason for this is its location and most importantly the unplanned and desperate constructions in and around this town.
Steps taken by Uttarakhand Government
Joshimath has been declared a Land Subsidence Zone by the Chamoli District Administration, this has been done because in the recent few days hundreds of houses have cracked, due to which families are being relocated from there because their house is now have become insecure.
On the other hand, the government has announced an interim relief package ₹1. 5 lakh and is working on rehabilitation package for the people. The government has already announced the vacation of everyone living in the danger zone of Joshimath. And ₹4000 per month rent will be given by the government to the displaced families
Along with this, all the hotels and buildings which have become unsafe in there are also going to be demolished but due to bad weather the work has to be stopped.